


Touch my world with your fingertips

by bunnysworld



Category: Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Falling In Love, M/M, Pining, RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 11:36:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18690691
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: Rupert has gone and fallen in love with his co-star. That they are booked by lots of conventions together doesn't really help.





	Touch my world with your fingertips

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mrs_leary (julie)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/gifts).



> Thanks, [mrs_leary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julie/pseuds/mrs_leary), for once again organizing this fest and letting me play on very short notice. I shamelessly wrote for one of my own prompts, hope that's okay. This one's for you, for obvious reasons ;)
> 
> Not beta'd. Might be replaced with a beta'd version some other time. 
> 
> So yes, this is RPF, emphasis on 'fic' as in 'fiction'. The only things that are real about this is that Rupert and Alex often appear together at conventions together as they have the same consultant who books them, the convention that is referred to in this fic does exist and Alex attended. Rupert wasn't even in the same country that weekend, so this only happened in my mind. :)
> 
> Title just as shamelessly borrowed from a Queen song.
> 
> And since I couldn't find a Rupert/Alex tag...*gasp* Might this be the first fic of its kind???? The mind boggles.

"Are you sure?" Alex looked at him questioningly. "If you need some painkillers, let me know. Or if you need anything, just give me a call."

"Yeah, thanks. No. Won't need anything. Just a bit of peace and quiet and to put my feet up. See you later." Rupert smiled tiredly as he fiddled with his key card as he turned towards the elevators. Stepping in, he rolled his head to release the tension in his shoulders and neck a bit. Conventions were great, but they were pretty exhausting. 

Rupert knew he shouldn't be complaining. He got little enough work as it was and doing the convention circus meant at least some income. It was fun to meet the fans who were so loyal to the show that had ended several years back and still came up with interesting questions. Of course, they got asked the same things over and over, but yes, once in a while someone showed up who had a funny or insightful question that they hadn't encountered before. 

Being used to big Comic Cons where everything was loud and hectic, Rupert had really been looking forward to this one. He'd been invited to this convention once before and had enjoyed it to the fullest. It was nice to know beforehand that you could move freely amongst the attendees and the fans, as excited as they were sometimes, always were polite and respected that between Q&As, photo ops and autograph sessions they were on their own time and just wanted to look around and soak up the atmosphere of the convention. 

He didn't get disappointed this time either. When people recognized him, they smiled or nodded their heads in greeting, some waved, but nobody approached him. So, just to pass the time, he stopped to chat with some of the people who followed him through the few projects he had since Merlin had ended. They had met at conventions or stage doors and it would have felt wrong to just wander on without saying hi. 

If he was honest, he enjoyed the attention just a little bit, too. It wasn't always easy to smile through the inevitable question of new projects, knowing that he was surrounded by working actors but was the only one in their circle who struggled. The sentence about having things lined up that he couldn't talk about yet got more difficult to say every time he had to say it. It was nice, though, that the fans didn't seem to care if he worked or not, they just seemed to like him. 

The door of the elevator opened on his floor and the moment he wandered down the long corridor to his room, the noise and the hazzle of the convention faded away. Usually, he looked forward to spending time with the other actors when the official part of a convention was over for the day. It always helped to network, you never knew what it led to. 

Today, he was just shot. He'd basically had his Q&A, photo ops and the autographs back to back and needed a little distance from it all. No, that wasn't quite the truth. 

Rupert opened his room, made sure the door closed behind him and just fell onto the bed. He knew he was screwed. It wasn't the convention that was exhausting, it wasn't that he felt bad about not constantly working. It was Alex. Alexander stupid-face Vlahos, who he had foolishly fallen in love with. 

He knew very well that their consultant always sold them in what was basically a two-for-the-price-of-one package. They all wanted Alex and got him on top. It meant that they spent a lot of time together as Alex was always around. They did some of the Q&As together, they usually were seated close to each other at the autographs, had group photo shoots and spent a big part of their day together. 

In the beginning, Rupert had thought these feelings were gratefulness. He really was grateful that their consultant made those deals and Alex had immediately agreed to it. He was more than happy to put up with him and Rupert knew this wasn't something everyone would want. 

But there was no denying, the longer he was around quirky, talkative Alex who was able to think on his feet and had enough energy for five people, the more he felt drawn to him. It became more and more difficult not to constantly touch him and the fantasies that crept into his mind the moments before falling asleep were not appropriate to say the least. 

That Alex had had more than one nude scene in Versailles didn't really help and Rupert's whole body cried out to Alex, wanting to explore and touch and taste and to hold him tight later, watching him sleep, protecting him from the world. 

The only thing he could do, though, was to retreat, to go to his room, to put some distance between them, so he could face him again in the morning for their next activity together. 

This wasn't healthy. Even though Alex had portrayed a gay character, he was clearly straight, so the only thing that would happen if Rupert confessed, was a rejection and things getting really weird after that. He couldn't risk that. 

A frustrated sigh escaped him. Why couldn't he have fallen in love with a normal bloke, not in the industry, who wanted him, too, and things weren't so complicated? But no, he had to go and fall for his straight co-worker, who was also a lot younger. 

It was difficult not to love Alex, though. He was so open and approachable, wore his heart on his sleeve and a lot of times in their Q&As Rupert held his breath when he heard the stories Alex was telling the audience, thereby revealing a lot of personal things. He was probably not even aware of that. Rupert pulled himself up to toe off his shoes and pull the cardigan over his head. It was a good thing that Alex would go away for work for a few weeks, so he could detach himself a bit. 

Just as he had neatly set his shoes under the chair at the desk and hung up his cardigan, there was a knock on the door.

"Room service!"

Room service? He hadn't ordered anything. And that voice sounded so familiar.

Opening the door just a crack, he took a breath and started "I didn't..." and then fell silent. Of course the voice had sounded familiar. There stood Alex with one of those little cart thingies room service usually rolled things into your room with. On one side, there was a thermos which most likely held hot water as it was surrounded by an assortment of tea. On the other side were some bottles of beer and a bottle of red wine with the matching glasses. 

"Err..."

Alex smiled carefully at him. "I didn't know what you needed more at the moment."

Scratching the back of his neck, Rupert didn't know what to say. Alex was the person he wanted to see least now as his presence ruined his plans of detaching. Bringing all of this stuff up for him, thereby missing the party that was going on downstairs...that was incredibly sweet. 

"Can I come in?"

Rupert's brain still tried to come up with something, anything to say, but he just looked. This was so confusing. He swallowed hard. 

"Are you alright, mate?"

"Yeah...I..." Rupert stepped back. "Come on in." Maybe Alex would just drop the things off and then go to the party. 

Alex did no such thing, though. He brought the little cart in and turned to look at Rupert. "So, what will it be? Camomille tea and a pain killer? Or a beer and a talk?" Alex's hand hovered over the beverages. 

Oh no, Alex had noticed that something was off. Should he take the easy way out and ask for a tea and an Aspirin? Alex sure would leave him alone if he pretended to have a headache, but... Rupert nodded. "A beer."

"Or rather a glass of wine?" The almost anxious look vanished from Alex's face and made way for an almost shy smile - a rare sight. 

Rupert shook his head. "No, a beer is just about right." 

Alex opened two bottles and handed him one while Rupert looked around in the room, which was all of a sudden not big enough. There was one chair at the desk and another one at the tiny little table and it seemed as if the bed was getting bigger and bigger. 

Taking the decission away from Rupert, Alex pulled the chair from the desk, thereby pulling the shoes Rupert had put underneath out. Unceremoniously, he kicked them back under the desk and Rupert flinched. This was another reason they weren't compatible, if all the other reasons had been moved out of the way - he was tidy and Alex was incredibly messy. 

"Shoes are not important." Alex turned the chair around and sat down, taking a sip of the beer. He put his arms on the back of the chair and motioned for Rupert to sit down in the other one. "What's wrong, Rupe?"

Oh Gosh. He had tried to keep it all to himself but obviously he hadn't been descreet enough. "What gave me away?" He closed his eyes and blew out a breath that he hadn't noticed holding. 

Alex just looked at him for a moment. "I always thought we were close, but lately you started pulling away. I need to know why. What have I done that you do that?"

He looked so sad that Rupert wanted to jump up off his seat, wrap his arms around him and assure him that everything was alright. "Nothing. It's just..." Rupert took a deep breath and then closed his eyes. "I developped a little crush..." He opened his eyes again and tried a smile and a shrug. "Never mind me."

"But I do. You know I care about you. We could talk about everything...and now..." Alex huffed out a little chuckle. "You thought you could keep that from me?" He winked. 

"I had to." Rupert moved around in his seat and looked at the beer bottle he was holding with two hands. He took a deep breath and looked up. "Just...forget about it, it's just a little crush, it'll go away. I'm sorry for making you feel uncomfortable."

To his surprise, Alex laughed at that. "A little crush...Rupe, man, I've seen you crush before. Remember that bloke in London at that con?"

Rupert blushed slightly. Damn, he had made a fool out of himself that weekend by pining over a total stranger who was half his age. 

"Or the red head in...where was it? Brighton?"

Fuck, he had tried to flirt with the waiter at the restaurant they went to after the convention there. Of course, Alex would have picked up on something like that. Even though he always seemed too bouncy, he paid attention and noticed things. 

"Come on, don't make me say it." This was awkward enough the way it was. 

Alex got up and turned his chair around, so he was sitting properly on it, with no back rest as a barrier between them and leaned closer. "Why is it so difficult?"

Rupert huffed and took a sip of his beer. "Tell me about it."

"No, I mean, it's only difficult if we make it difficult."

Sighing deeply, Rupert shook his head. "Don't say that. There is nothing easy about falling in love with a straight guy." He looked up. "And that you're a co-worker and we were friends doesn't make it easier, either."

There was a little smile on Alex' face when the 'falling in love' slipped out. "What makes you think I'm all straight?"

"Oh, come on. Just because you play a gay bloke on a show doesn't make you want men in real life." Especially not a boring old fart like me, but he didn't say that. 

"No, but maybe all the research I've done for the role made me realize that men are an interesting option, too." Alex gave him one of his crooked grins. 

"Don't do that, Alex. You have a girlfriend and you're so much younger and..."

"Yes, I had a girlfriend and guess what, I even almost got married to a woman two years back, but that doesn't mean that I can't find out that there's something else, too. And cut out that 'we were friends'. We are. No matter what happens tonight or at some later point, you will always be my friend."

Rupert swallowed hard. Even though Alex was usually very open, he normally tried to joke things off. He did nothing like that at the moment. Alex had never looked so vulnerable to him. Shaking his head, Rupert looked at his beer again and sighed.

"You make two false assumptions, Mr. Young."

Frowning, Rupert looked up. Alex never even jokingly called him by his last name. 

"A: you think you're not worth anyone's affection." Alex got up , set his beer bottle aside and shrugged his leather jacket off his shoulders. "And B: you still think I'm only but a child that doesn't know what it wants." He took the two steps to close the space between them. "You are mistaken on both accounts." Taking the bottle out of Rupert's hand, he straddled him. 

Things went way too fast for Rupert to even react. What had he missed in their conversation? Hadn't he made it clear that all of this was his fault and that Alex was just supposed to do nothing about it? 

He couldn't finish that train of thought as Alex leaned in and kissed him softly. The kiss was all he had dreamed of and more. Their beards scratched together and that gave a nice tickle. Alex' lips were soft and when he opened his mouth and let his tongue lick at Rupert's lips, Rupert could smell the beer he'd had. He couldn't resist, he parted his lips and it didn't take long and they were kissing in earnest. 

Alex's hands came up and cupped Rupert's face and he leaned into the touch. Nobody had touched him like this in a long time and it felt like some weight was falling off his shoulders. His own arms wrapped around Alex in an attempt to not let him go. 

It didn't seem as if Alex had any intention of going, though. It was more like Alex did this as he approached everything in life - once he set his mind to it, he was all in, a force that couldn't be stopped. A hand in his hair, Alex held him in place and Rupert kissed back hungrily. 

Only when they broke for air, his brain set in again. "Alex," he whispered breathlessly. This was wrong. They shouldn't be doing that, he had to stop it before it went any further. His body, the traitor thought differently, though.

"Don't." Alex breathed and moved closer to let him feel that he was hard already just from kissing. 

"I can't be your little gay experiment." Rupert closed his eyes, everything inside in turmoil. He wanted this boy, this man, had for quite a while, and now that he was close to getting his deepest, darkest desire fulfilled, he knew he had to back out. Even though Alex wanted to go through with this now, Rupert was sure that he would go back to his perfectly straight life the moment they were done. Where would that leave him? Happy that he got what he wanted? Or rather even more heart-broken because he got a taste of what he could never get?

"You aren't. Rupe, I had my gay experiment a long time ago and I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want it, too."

"But..."

"No 'but'. I live for the weekends we can spend together." A wicked grin showed on Alex's face. "And I can't count the nights I've wanked thinking of you."

Rupert groaned. This was just a dream and he would wake up any minute now. "Don't do this to me. To us. You will change your mind very soon and then things will be weird."

Alex pulled back a bit. "I'm not doing anything to anyone. I want us to do things. Together. Like...remember that time when we just went for a walk because the park near the convention center was so pretty? I don't even like going for walks, but with you it's different. You show me things that I would just carelessly ignore, you keep me from revealing my whole life to everyone on stage, with you, I can relax and be myself. You keep me centered."

Swallowing hard, Rupert didn't know what to say. 

"And you're so sexy that it almost hurts."

"Oh, shut up."

"Make me." Alex grinned, pulled his t-shirt over his head and dove in for another kiss.


End file.
